The present disclosure relates to patient support apparatuses such as patient beds and particularly, to patient support apparatuses that have therapy devices. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to patient support apparatuses that have integrated limb compression devices.
Patient support apparatuses, such as patient beds, are used in patient rooms to support sick patients and to support patients recovering from surgery, for example. It is desirable for some patients to wear limb compression sleeves, such as foot sleeves, calf sleeves, thigh sleeves, or a combination of these sleeves. The sleeves are inflated and deflated intermittently to promote blood flow within the patient's leg or legs thereby to prevent deep vein thrombosis, for example. Usually, a separate control box which houses the pneumatic components that operate to inflate and deflate the compression sleeve(s) worn by the patient is provided.
Oftentimes, the control box for the compression sleeve(s) is hung on the footboard of the patient bed. Thus, there is a risk that the control box can slip off of the footboard. Also, relatively long power cords are required to be routed from the control box at the foot end of the bed to a power outlet near the head end of the bed or elsewhere in the patient room. The foot ends of patient beds are typically oriented more toward the center of a room and not adjacent to any room wall. The power cord, therefore, may pose a tripping hazard for caregivers, patients, and visitors. The power cord also may be in the way of other carts or wheeled stands, such as those used to support IV pumps and bags, for example. When not in use, the control box must be stored separately within a healthcare facility.
Some patient beds are designed to have control boxes for compression sleeves mounted elsewhere on the bed or within recesses specifically designed to accommodate the control boxes. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,387,065 which discloses a pneumatic box mounted to a base of a bed frame and a control panel mounted to a footboard. See also U.S. Pat. No. 7,641,623 which shows, in different embodiments, cavities within a footboard, siderail, head section and mattress for receiving a removable compression module. When the patient is ambulatory, the compression module is detached from the bed and carried with the patient. These prior art systems do not, however, vary operation of the compression therapy based on the status or condition of other features of the beds in which they are integrated. Accordingly, there is room for improvement in the use of compression therapy devices on patient beds.